Section 7.11. Nesting Tables in Standard View

7.11. Nesting Tables in Standard View

By merging cells , you can create complex tables that offer precise control over your layouts. If you use Layout mode to create a detailed, handcrafted design, you'll see how Dreamweaver can generate complex tables using this technique.

But on the Web, simpler is usually better. Sometimes, instead of spending time and effort chopping up and merging cells to create a certain look, the best solution is to nest tablesplacing a table within a tableinstead of creating one complex table (see Figure 7-27).

Since a table cell acts just like a mini document, you can put anything that you'd normally place on a page inside a cellgraphics, text, links and, yes, even tables. Simply click a cell and use one of the techniques described earlier to add and format the table.

You can even place more than one table in a single cell. In Figure 7-27, for example, three tables are nested in the right-side cell of the main table. They're in the flow of the cell contents, separated into individual paragraphs (it sounds complicated, but looking at the figure should makes things clear). By compartmentalizing and aligning information, nested tables make complex Web pages easier to both build and edit.

Be aware that there are some limits to nesting tables. For example, it's best not to nest more than three tables deepin other words, a table inside of a table inside of a table. While most browsers can recognize and draw tables that are more deeply nested, such complexity is difficult to render, resulting in pages that are slow to load, especially on slower computers.